


garden song

by punish3rr



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F, and the rest is history!, fake dating kinda, i wrote this while only listening to punisher by phoebe bridgers so, shelby is a cheerleader, there is angst, toni is a basketball legend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:14:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29319198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punish3rr/pseuds/punish3rr
Summary: Martha and her boyfriend Hunter host a valentines day weekend getaway but they wanted to make sure that people only came in pairs to make it easier on everyone, somehow Toni finds herself going with Shelby Goodkind (her mortal enemy). Toni has always hated Shelby but maybe the way Shelby's lips feel on her own will change that.
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 3
Kudos: 52





	garden song

**Author's Note:**

> this will be slightly long (chapter wise) i think, dunno. it's basically fake dating (not really tho) and shelby and toni are both athletic girlies. angst in the future <3

“You want me to what?” Toni’s eyes widened at the sudden question that Martha threw at her, bending down to drop the basketball she was holding onto the floor next to her feet.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but it would really mean a lot to me and to Shelby,” Martha’s eyes pleaded with the girl in front of her, watching as Toni’s face scrunched up in both annoyance and confusion. Martha knew that what she was asking Toni was almost embarrassing but she had no choice.

“You want me to be Shelby Goodkind’s date for your trip?” Toni stood up straight, her eyes still wide with confusion as she tried to figure out if Martha was pranking her or not. Toni couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of Martha’s mouth, "the same Shelby Goodkind we go to school with?"

“Not a real date, a fake one, and no one would know but us,” Martha grabbed Toni’s forearm, giving it a light squeeze as she stared into Toni’s eyes, her lips forming a frown as Toni just stood there, shellshocked. 

“A fake date?”

“Yeah, a fake one! Seriously, Shelby isn’t even into girls or anything so it would be fake obviously,” Martha gave Toni a small smile.

“Oh, I know she doesn’t like girls,” Toni rolled her eyes, “Trust me.”

“I will do all of your chores for a whole week! I will even do the dishes!”

“You hate the dishes,” Toni scoffed playfully, “I would never make you do the dishes, Marty, no matter what you were asking me to do.”

Martha smiled at her best friend before frowning, Toni was trying to change the subject. A sigh left her lips as she looked around her bedroom before walking over to her dresser, opening the second drawer, and rummaging around through her clothes. Toni watched as Martha pulled out a small picture, a slight pink formed on Martha’s cheeks.

“I will show you this embarrassing picture of me in eighth grade dressed up as Elsa from Frozen,” Martha watched as Toni stifled a laugh, biting down on her lip to make sure she doesn’t fully laugh in Martha’s face. Toni’s hand reached out to grab the picture but before she could, Martha pulled back with narrowed eyes.

“You have to promise me that you’ll go with us and be Shelby’s date,” Martha smiled, pulling the picture flush against her chest to make sure Toni didn’t steal it out of her hands. Toni might be small but she was surprisingly very strong. 

“Why does she need a date anyways, doesn’t she have a boyfriend?” Toni’s hands rested on her hips, a look of annoyance resting on her face.

“Yes, but he can’t come for multiple reasons plus that’s not the point.”

“Okay, but why does she need a date in the first place?”

“She doesn’t actually need a date but I don’t want her to feel like a third wheel with Hunter and me.”

“But why me? Out of all of the people we know, you could’ve asked someone like Leah or Fatin.”

“Well, Leah and Fatin are going together and the rest of our friends have other plans,” Marth trailed off for a second, “Toni it’s basically a free weekend getaway with a bunch of cool stuff to do and all you have to do is pretend to like Shelby Goodkind.”

“That’s easier said than done, Marty,” Toni huffed and picked up her basketball duffel bag that was resting in the corner of the room, “you know Shelby doesn’t even like me, so what are her thoughts on this?”

“She was the one who suggested it actually,” Toni froze in her tracks, luckily she was facing the wall so Martha couldn’t see the frown that formed on her lips.

“Is she planning on killing me or something?” 

“She’s actually really sweet, T,” Martha breathed out, “just give her a chance, please?”

“Okay.”

“Okay? It was that easy?” Martha’s lips parted, her head tilting as she looked at a much too calm Toni Shalifoe.

“If you want me to spend my valentine's day weekend at some random lake house then okay,” Toni picked up her basketball, inching closer to Martha’s bedroom door, “just tell Shelby she has to leave her bible at home.” 

The walk to school was long and cold and Toni couldn’t stop thinking about how Martha just roped her into spending an entire weekend with Shelby Goodkind at Martha’s boyfriend's lakehouse. Toni didn’t know if she was more offended that Martha was pawning her off to Shelby Goodkind or the fact that Shelby was invited before Toni.

Toni just couldn’t believe that she agreed to go on the trip with them, a trip that she definitely didn’t think she would enjoy. Toni could feel the sudden bubble of rage that started to manifest itself in her chest, closing her eyes for a second as she counted back from ten. Ever since she broke up with Regan, Toni told herself that she wasn’t allowed to get angry anymore. Toni was trying to be more understanding of the things around her, all she wanted to do was make Martha happy and if that meant spending the entirety of Valentine’s Day weekend on Lake Travis, then she would do it.

Basketball practice was going smoothly, until Toni noticed that the cheerleaders had made their way into the gym, obviously waiting for the basketball team to be done. Toni scanned the group of girls who were congregating near the gym doors, looking for a certain blonde who she knew was amongst them. Shelby’s eyes met Toni’s, her lips curling into a soft smile before she dove back into whatever conversation she was having with the other cheerleaders.

“Shalifoe! Get your head out of the clouds!” The booming voice of her coach ripped her out of her slight daydream, her attention returning to the scrimmage that was happening on the court in front of her. The last thirty minutes of practice went by very slowly, each minute felt like it lasted an hour and all Toni wanted to do was go home. There was something seriously unnerving about all of the cheerleaders watching the basketball team go about their practice, the occasional giggle bouncing off of the gym's walls. 

After getting changed in the locker room and grabbing all of her things, Toni was about to step out of the gym doors before a hand grabbed her shoulder, pushing her into a small corner that no one else could see. 

“Excuse me?” Toni muttered.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to draw attention to us,” Shelby grinned and Toni took the time to really look at Shelby in her cheerleading outfit, her eyes scanning Shelby’s body, her eyes lingering on Shelby’s legs longer than she would admit.

“Martha texted me and said that you agreed to come with us so I just wanted to say thank you,” Shelby rambled, her hands grasping at the hem of her skirt and she shifted from one foot to the other, “also I wanted to ask when you wanted me to pick you up?”

“What?” Toni blurted out, clutching the strap of her duffel bag.

“Oh,” Shelby whispered, “Martha didn’t tell you that part?”

“What part?”

“You have to ride with me to the lake.” 

Toni blinked at Shelby, her mouth parting like she was going to say something but nothing ever came out. 

“Why did you ask Martha to ask me to be your date?”

Shelby’s eyes widened at the sudden abrasive question, looking around to make sure no one heard what Toni had just said. Toni noticed the sudden change in Shelby's body language, rolling her eyes and scoffing. 

“You really are homophobic, aren’t you?” Toni crossed her arms, her eyes shooting daggers at Shelby who was just frowning.

“No, god, that’s not me. I just don’t want anyone to know about the trip and stuff, okay?” Shelby pleaded with Toni, who for a second contemplated the idea of just screaming at the top of her lungs about how Shelby Goodkind was basically asking her out but she didn’t. Toni just nodded, which was enough for Shelby who was digging out her phone and shoving it into Toni’s hands. Toni typed her number into Shelby’s phone and immediately gave it back to the girl, a big smile on Shelby’s lips.

“Okay, I know Martha and the others are leaving tomorrow like right after school so what if I just pick you up after school too?” Shelby was starting to walk back to where she needed to be, her hand brushing against Toni’s for a brief second.

“Sure, sounds good I guess,” Toni grumbled but Shelby still had a big smile on her face.

The next day Toni packed all of the things she would need for the three days into her basketball bag, an unamused look on her face all day as Martha made cheeky comments about how Toni was going to fall in love with Shelby Goodkind. Toni’s coach allowed her to store her bag in his office for the day while she went through the school day, her eyes glued to the clock all day. 

Toni was a little excited, it wasn’t often that she got to go to the lake, especially a lake that was a couple of hours away from her hometown. Toni moved to Texas during the summer before her freshman year of high school and now it was the second semester of junior year and she couldn't believe how fast the years have moved. Toni had always enjoyed swimming and she was excited to spend the entire weekend doing just that. 

The clock hit 3 o’clock and Toni practically jumped out of her seat and ran to where her coach's office was, grabbing her bag and going straight to the parking lot. Shelby texted her that she would be running a little bit late because she had to “take care of student government business”, whatever that meant. 

“Shalifoe!” Fatin’s voice caused Toni to jump out of whatever thought she was fixating on, her head tilting up and eyes squinting in the sun to look at the taller girl in front of her, “Are you ready for a good weekend!” 

“That’s if it’s good,” Toni snorted, stepping back so they were in the shade.

“Oh, shit! I forgot,” Fatin stopped so that she could laugh, very loudly at that, “I completely forgot that somehow Shelby Goodkind is who you’re going with.” 

“Don’t remind me.”

“Well, at least neither of you will be third-wheeling.” Fatin put a hand on Toni’s shoulder, patting it slightly before walking off with a laugh, leaving Toni by herself again. 

Toni waited twenty minutes before Shelby walked through the school’s front doors, her hands full with various poster boards and her cheer bag in her right hand.

“Ready?” Shelby yelled out and Toni just nodded, following Shelby to wherever her car was parked. Toni wondered if Shelby conveniently waited for the parking lot to empty so people wouldn’t see her getting in the same car as Toni. Shelby threw her and Toni’s stuff into the trunk of her car before walking around and getting in the driver’s seat.

“I asked Martha what kind of snacks you liked and bought them before I got to school, so those are in the back seat,” Shelby said as she situated herself in the car, turning it on and plugging her phone into the aux cord. 

“Thanks,” Toni muttered, a slightly anxious feeling in her stomach.

As soon as Shelby started pulling out of the parking lot, the sound of a Taylor Swift song started playing through the speakers eliciting a groan from Toni. 

“Oh, c’mon! You can’t hate Taylor!” Shelby raised her voice playfully.

“I can, actually, and I do,” Toni shifted in her seat, her head resting on the passenger window.

“It’s just not allowed.”

Toni rolled her eyes but found her foot tapping along to the music, a smile on her lips as she realized Shelby definitely couldn’t see her foot. 

Toni soon realized that Shelby was _only_ playing Taylor Swift music and that the next two hours were going to be something out of a nightmare for the small basketball player in the passenger seat. .

Toni laughed to herself, thinking about the fact that in another life maybe the basketball captain and the head cheerleader would get along. But this wasn’t that life and Toni knew that.


End file.
